The Birthplace of Lexington Park

The Flat Tops were a godsend for a lot of people.  Because people had to come down here to go to work and it was so hard to find places to live.  And it was really convenient for all of us that moved there.  I don’t know what we’d have done if we hadn’t because there really wasn’t any – enough homes around to – even if you wanted to buy a house there wasn’t anything at all.  So it was wonderful that they built those places for us.

- Teresa Schaffer, Flat Tops Resident 1952-1966

Before Lexington Park was a bustling town of almost 13,000 residents, it was a neighborhood of 350 houses known to many as “the Flat Tops”. This neighborhood, called Lexington Park, was built during WWII by the Navy to house the unprecedented number of people who moved to the County to work at the newly minted Naval Air Station Patuxent River.

These homes formed the first planned community in St. Mary’s County, and for over 50 years provided affordable housing for County residents. We invite you to explore our collections, and hear the stories of those who lived at the birthplace of Lexington Park.